Transmission of video data with existing communication channels can require a significant amount of bandwidth. Data compression is an approach that has been used to make digital video images more transportable over these channels. Specifically, digital video compression allows digitized video data to be represented in a much more efficient manner and makes it possible to transmit the compressed video data using a channel at a fraction of the bandwidth required to transmit the uncompressed video data.
An example of a data compression technique is the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) standard. MPEG sets forth standards for data compression and may be applied to various signals such as audio and video. Data compression allows gaps, empty fields, redundancies, and unnecessary data to be removed to shorten the length of the data, thereby providing better bandwidth utilization and making more efficient use of channel bandwidth and storage media.